If you're like me, and who wouldn’t want to be (ha), then you probably also wake up
at 3 AM sometimes with a flood of urgent questions in your mind!
How do barcode readers work?
How did bubble wrap appear?
And, most importantly, is there a reason most erasers are pink?
Well, here we go!
1.
Ever paid attention to those metal or plastic tips on the ends of your shoelaces?
They’re called aglets.
Sure, they keep the strings from fraying, and they make lacing your shoes much less
labor-intensive.
But here’s the surprising bit: they appeared in ancient Rome, where people made them out
of glass or stone.
2.
The reason why the computer mouse is named after that cute little rodent is easy to explain:
the thing is quick and small, and not too long ago, it used to have a cord connecting
it to the computer that looked like a tail.
But when the first computer mice appeared, producers referred to them as turtles.
Makes sense!
They’re covered with a hard shell, and all the moving parts are underneath this “shield.”
3.
Obviously, webcams let you see your friends and relatives who can be halfway across the
world.
But few people know that the web camera was created with a bit less noble purpose.
It was 1991, and Cambridge computer scientists were getting frustrated.
You see, every time they went to the coffee machine for a cup of Joe, there wouldn’t
be any coffee left in the pot!
A journey wasted!
One day, they’d finally had enough and simply invented the world's first webcam!
They placed the camera next to the infamous coffee pot with a perfect view to check the
level.
Then they’d know right from their desks if the trip would be worth the effort!
4.
What would childhood be without hours spent sending a Slinky down a staircase?
Ah, good times…
The popular toy has been around for over 70 years, but there’s more to the Slinky than
stair-time fun (and lots of tangles): its older metal version used to serve as a makeshift
antenna for engineers and soldiers.
And in 1985, one Slinky even made it to space!
Unfortunately, it refused to slink in zero gravity.
Astronauts reported that it just "drooped."
5.
Paper money isn't the most reliable form of cash because bills tend to wear out faster
than you’d think.
For example, a US 1-dollar bill usually lasts for only 18 months – after that, it must
be withdrawn from circulation and replaced.
A 5-dollar bill goes a bit longer – for 2 years, a 10 - for 3 years, and a 20 – for
4 years.
As for 50- and 100-dollar bills, they last the longest – 9 whole years!
And get this: the US Mint prints 37 million bills a day, but 95% of them go to replace
old ones that are dirty, torn, faded, and unusable.
Hey, I’ll be happy to take that dirty, torn and faded cash!
Call me maybe.
6.
T-shirts were invented at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1904, Cooper Underwear Company advertised them as a perfect product for bachelors who
couldn’t sew or reattach buttons to their shirts.
Back then, you were supposed to wear a T-shirt under your collared shirt as an undergarment.
Oh, and all T-shirts at that time were white – no funny prints or bright colors.
7.
In 1957, engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes decided to seal two shower curtains
together with tiny bubbles of air stuck in between.
Why?
It was supposed to be a cool new idea for a wallpaper!
Unfortunately for them, nobody was interested in bubbly wall décor.
But in 1961, people realized that this bubble wrap could be great protection for fragile
things!
The company’s first client was IBM, who used the stuff to cover their computers during
shipment.
I don’t know, I’m kind of into the wallpaper idea now that I think about it – imagine
how fun your house could be!
8.
Erasers – why are they pink?
Ok, I know they now come in all colors and shapes, but I’m talking about that classic
bubble-gum hue.
History’s got all the answers!
When a stand-alone eraser appeared in 1916, it was made mainly of rubber and pumice.
Without the pumice, the thing didn't have enough friction to erase pencil marks.
Pumice could be white or red, and the color of an eraser depended on the hue of this volcanic
rock.
That year, the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company started to add pink pumice to their erasers,
which became popular under the name "Pink Pearl."
Nowadays, producers don’t use pumice or natural rubber for their erasers anymore.
But they decided to keep the color as an homage to history!
9.
Electric fans don't actually cool the air.
If you put a thermometer anywhere close to the working parts, you'll see the temperature
rise due to the electric current.
What it does do is cool your skin!
The device speeds up the evaporation process, making sweat on your skin colder.
10.
Rice is the oldest food on your plate.
And I don't mean it's expired!
Rice is the product people have been cultivating for the longest time: from 12,000 to 15,000
years.
It first appeared in ancient China's Pearl River Valley thousands of years ago.
The only other food that’s almost as old is corn.
Native people in Mexico started growing it between 7,000 to 12,000 years ago.
11.
The keyboard you use today was originally designed to slow you down!
The position of the letters isn’t as random as it might seem.
It's called QWERTY design (see the top left row of letters), and it appeared in 1872.
The main purpose of this design was to slow down the typists of that time.
They were getting too fast for the machines they used.
As a result, typewriters jammed, which wasted tons of time.
And however counterintuitive it may sound, slowing the typists down actually made them
more productive.
Obviously, there's no practical need for the QWERTY keyboard nowadays, but people are so
used to it that it’s probably not worth coming up with a new design.
12.
You might have noticed that some cables have chunky cylinders on them.
These cylinders are called ferrite chokes (or ferrite beads), and they have an important
function.
Without them, cables turn into antennas that can pick up and broadcast electrical interference.
The cylinders, in turn, "choke" this interference.
13.
Now stick with me here.
Velcro was invented after a walk in the forest!
George de Mestral, the Swiss inventor of the popular quick fastener, once noticed how burs
would stick to his dog's fur and his own pant legs.
This inspired him to come up with an idea of creating the same effect for fabric.
14.
Barbie saw the light of day in 1959.
And in the 1960s, the legendary doll got a fictional biography published in a series
of novels.
If you read them, you'll find out that her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts of
Willows, Wisconsin, and her parents are George and Margaret Roberts.
But they’re all kind of artificial, know what I mean.
15.
Despite what I used to believe, barcode readers aren’t reading the black parts of the code
but the white ones!
The reader emits rays of light that fall on those bars.
When that happens, the white areas reflect this light, while the dark ones absorb it.
And it’s the reflected light which helps the device "read" the code and give you the
information about the product.
Man, I used to think the “Bar Code” meant how many pretzels you were allow to eat along
with your beverage.
16.
In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought some pineapples to Europe, and people fell in love
with the taste of the exotic fruit.
Sadly, they needed tropical climates to grow to perfection.
That's why the only way to get yourself a pineapple was to import it from across the
Atlantic.
It took ages, and in the process, fruits could get rotten or bruised.
No wonder a single pineapple could cost a ridiculous amount of money.
It became a symbol of status, and people who couldn't afford to buy one, rented pineapples
for a night to show them off at their parties!
And now, I think I’ll go back to sleep.
Morning’s coming soon.
But first:
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And here are some other great videos I know you'll enjoy.
Just click to the left or right, and stay on the Bright Side of life!